A Hope of Life
by POPSICLEx3LOVE
Summary: When Joey gets sick, who will be there to help her pick up the pieces? PaceyJoey


"I'm sorry Joey, you have leukemia."

Joey sat staring at the doctor for several minutes before she was able to talk. "Am I going to die?"

"We are going to do everything we can to keep that from happening. We are lucky we caught it at this early on. We have really good chances. It's not going to be easy, chemo is tough, but I'm going to do everything and anything I can to help you."

Joey let the tears escape her eyes, as 'good chances' and 'chemo' ran through her head.

"I'll make another appointment to go over specifics. Is there anyone who can come get you? You really shouldn't be driving after hearing this." The doctor said as tears fell down her cheeks.

Joey nodded and took out her cell phone while the doctor excused himself from the room.

She dialed a number quickly, one that she knew by heart.

"Hey Pacey, could you come and get me?"

"_Sure Jo, where are you?"_ She could hear rustling in the background.

"I'm at the hospital Pace."

"_Are you okay Jo, what happened? Are you hurt?"_ Hearing the worry in his voice almost made her burst out in sobs, but she tried to hold him back so he wouldn't hear; but he did.

"Please Pace, I'll explain later."  
_"I'll be there in five minutes."_

Joey hung up the phone just as the doctor came back in.

"I set you up an appointment for tomorrow at eleven. We need to start treatments as soon as possible."

Joey nodded and stood up, "Thank you," she said before heading for the door.

"And Joey?"

Joey turned around, "Yes?"  
"Bring someone with you; you are going to need all the support you can get."

Joey turned back around and walked out. She took the stairs, wanting to be alone; and let the tears fall down her cheeks. As she got down towards the exit, she could see Pacey running up through the rain. She quickly wiped her cheeks for any leftover tears as he got up to her.

"Jo, are you okay?" He asked pulling her to him.

Joey nodded against him. "Let's get you home." He said, knowing she was lying.

He led her out to his truck, and opened the door for her to get in. Joey leaned against the window, watching the rain fall down the windows.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Pacey asked as they got out onto the main road.

"Not now, later. I promise." Pacey nodded and continued to watch the road, occasionally taking glances at Joey.

Pacey was worried, he honestly hadn't seen Joey this quiet or depressed, ever. Not to mention the fact that he just picked her up from the hospital and she didn't want to talk about it. This was definitely not the Joey he knew.

As they arrived at the Potter B&B, Joey was hesitant to get out. They both just sat there in silence for a few minutes.

"Pacey if you're not doing anything, do you think you could come in with me? I'm supposed to watch Alexander and I might need some help."

Pacey nodded, "Sure." he said and put his truck into park. They both walked in together to see a frantic Bessie running about in her dress clothes.

"Thank God, Joey, where were you? You're late."

Joey looked away with tears in her eyes, "Sorry Bess."

"Look I will probably be late no earlier than 11, so make sure Alexander is in bed by 8:30, okay?"

Joey nodded. "Good, well I'll see you later; bye Joey, Pacey."

Pacey pulled out an umbrella from the rack and handed it to Bessie, "It's pouring out Bess; you're going to need this."

"Thank you Pacey, have a good night you two."

----

Pacey was playing hide and seek with Alexander, while Joey made dinner. Hearing screams from the bedroom, she knew that Pacey had finally found Alexander and was now tickling him; it made her smile. He was so good with kids. Both of them walked into the kitchen with smiles on their faces, "What you making Jo?" Pacey asked leaning over the stove.

"I'm making spaghetti for you and Alexander, so why don't you go wash up; it'll be ready in a few minutes." She grabbed two plates and began putting noodles on both before adding the sauce.

She handed the boys their plates as they walked through and they went to sit down at the table. She grabbed a plate and added a few noodles and sauce before sitting down next to them.

"That's all you're eating Jo?" He said, staring at her plate humorously.

"Yeah, I'm not too hungry."

"Hey Pacey, can we watch Holes when we're done?" Alexander asked, scooping spaghetti into his mouth, letting half of it fall into his lap.

"After you have a bath." Pacey laughed, helping him get the food back onto his plate.

Joey sat, staring out the window pushing the food around her plate but not really eating it. Lost in her thoughts she never heard Pacey or Alexander get up. She nearly jumped out of her seat as Pacey touched her shoulder.

"Are you going to watch Holes with us? Alexander wanted to watch it before he went to bed and he just took his bath."

Joey looked up at him confused and shook her head, "Uh- no. I'm going to clean up; I'll be in there in a bit."

Pacey nodded and padded his way to the living room with Alexander in tow.

Joey picked up all the dishes, and washed them. The movie was half way over before she finally came in and sat next to Pacey on the couch, while Alexander sat in front of the TV. She really concentrated on the movie, laughing at the appropriate parts and such. And when the movie was finally over, she was sad; the movie had taken away her problems, now they were back and stronger than ever.

Pacey picked up the sleeping Alexander and carried him into his room while Joey walked behind him, ready to tuck him in. She carefully pulled up the covers, and put a kiss to his forehead before leaving and closing the door behind her. She walked back into the living room to find Pacey already making a fire. She sat down on the couch, waiting for him to join her. When he did, she knew he was going to bring up the inevitable; she was just waiting for him to ask.

"So are you going to tell me what's wrong? And please don't say nothing because I know that is a lie. I can tell you are upset Jo."

"I'm sick Pacey." She said, turning towards him.

"Sick?" Pacey asked, turning even more serious.

"I have leukemia; it was the reason I was at the doctor's office today, they had run some tests and wanted to go over them with me... I have leukemia." Tears filled Joey's eyes. Pacey just stared at her for several moments, "Oh my God Jo." He said finally, pulling her into his lap. Tears fell down her face like a river, "Do you think you could come with me tomorrow, the doctor wants to start treatment ASAP, and wants to go over some stuff." She said through sobs.

"Of course Jo, of course." He said rubbing her back.

"I'm so scared. I don't want to die." Joey muttered.

It broke his heart to hear her say that and tears came to his eyes. "It's okay Jo; you're not going to die. I promise. I promise." He said, holding her tightly in his arms.

He held her until he heard her breath even out, finally he let the tears escape. Letting the sobs over come him, he fell into a deep sleep.


End file.
